In recent years, there has been an intense flow of students from Turkey to some higher education institutions abroad, starting from nearby geography, for the purpose of receiving higher education. This situation is seen in various fields, especially health sciences (medical sciences, dentistry, pharmacy, etc.), law and engineering, which are closely related to public health and security.

The fact that some students who cannot be placed in any higher education institution in Turkey in these fields, and who do not even take the central exams conducted by ÖSYM, can easily enroll in some universities abroad that “do not require entrance requirements” has deeply wounded the public conscience.

On the other hand, our Board has received intense complaints that “these students, who are citizens of the Republic of Turkey, are only accepted to the exams without requiring them to know the language of that country and attend classes, and the classes are sometimes carried out through translation and sometimes by people brought from Turkey who are not qualified as teaching staff.”

Our students who are citizens of the Republic of Türkiye certainly have the right to receive education abroad, and in today’s understanding of higher education, it is unthinkable to place any restrictions on this issue.

What is in question here is the quality of education and training of students who are “collectively taken and registered” from Turkey to universities established within the framework of the country’s own legislation in some countries and who do not require attendance, and who will practice professions in fields such as “health, judiciary and engineering” in our country after graduation.

Our Board is obliged to observe and protect the rights of not only students who want to receive higher education in Turkey, but also students who want to receive education abroad. While our Board does its part in this regard and makes the following decision, it expects other institutions and organizations and stakeholders to share the same sensitivity.

As a result of the numerous written and verbal complaints made to our Board regarding higher education abroad in recent days, the recognition of some higher education institutions abroad has been re-evaluated and at the meeting of the General Assembly of Higher Education dated 12.02.2015:

For those who have completed their secondary education in Turkey and wish to receive education in higher education institutions abroad that are not among the top 500 universities in the world university rankings made by CWTS Leiden Ranking, Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai) and University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) in the year they started their education, as a prerequisite for equivalence procedures after graduation;

• Starting from the 2015-2016 academic year, they must have taken the YGS and LYS exams conducted by ÖSYM in the year they will start their education,
• They must be in the top 40,000 in the field of medical doctorate and in the top 150,000 in the field of law,
• They must have at least the score of the last student placed in programs within higher education institutions in Turkey in fields other than medicine and law included in the ÖSYS Guide,
• Those who will study in fields not included in the ÖSYS Guide must have at least 140 points in any score type for associate degree programs and at least 180 points in any score type for undergraduate programs,

it has been decided.

It is announced to the public.